Our Approach

Everyone’s starting point is different

We believe that every person’s needs, goals and movement capacity are different. Our entire approach is built on this sentence.

We know that someone starting for the first time and someone who has been exercising for a long time do not have the same needs. Even two people of the same age with similar goals differ in their training history, their daily pace and their body’s habits. That is why, instead of giving everyone the same programme, we first try to understand the person in front of us.

On this page we explain how a training process is set up at ATC, which principles it is based on and what we expect from you. Our aim is for you to see clearly what kind of structure you will be part of before you walk through the door.

Three foundations: science, technology, trainer

The three headings that define ATC are not independent of one another; each completes the others.

What does scientific training mean?

The word “scientific” may sound complicated; in practice, though, it has a fairly plain meaning: training is not left to chance. Why a movement is chosen, how much load it is done with and how often, when the difficulty is increased and when you rest all follow a plan.

The main principles we observe when building our programmes are these:

• Individuality: The programme takes shape according to your goal, your experience and your current fitness.
• Gradual progression: Difficulty is increased in steps your body can adapt to. We avoid hasty overloading for the sake of quick results.
• Balance: Work and rest are planned together; recovery is part of the programme.
• Movement quality: Before the number of repetitions, we look at how the movement is performed.
• Sustainability: The best programme is the one that fits into your life and that you can keep up.

These principles are applied separately for Pilates, fitness and yoga; but the logic is the same in every discipline.

Why and how do we use technology?

We use technology not to turn our members into numbers, but to get to know them better. We track the training process, observe progress and combine the data we gather with our trainers’ experience.

A trackable training experience is one of the important parts of ATC’s core approach. With our technological infrastructure and our trainers’ assessments, we aim to make your process as measurable as possible. We intend this to bring you three concrete benefits:

• Being able to see where you started and what has changed over time.
• Changes to the programme being based on observation, not intuition.
• Your motivation not depending solely on your mood that day.

There is an important distinction here: data does not make decisions on its own. A measurement cannot know how you slept that day or how busy your week has been. What makes the numbers meaningful is a trainer who knows you interpreting them.

The trainer’s role

At the centre of this whole system there is still the person. When you walk in, we want you to feel part of a professional structure, but not to feel like a stranger. What makes this possible is not technology, but the relationship you build with your trainer.

At ATC you can expect the following from your trainer:

• To know you; to know your goals and your history.
• To adapt movements to your level and offer alternatives when needed.
• To care about your progress and share it with you openly.
• To help you build a sustainable routine that fits your life.

We do not separate professionalism from warmth. An environment in which you will not hesitate to ask a question, to say that you cannot do a movement or to mention that you are tired that day is a precondition of a good programme.

How does the process work?

The path from first contact to regular training consists, in broad terms, of four steps:

1. 01

   First contact and introductory meeting

   You reach us via the contact form or WhatsApp. We give you information about the current trial class and introductory meeting options.

2. 02

   Initial assessment

   Through our short initial assessment process we learn about your training history, your goals and the points that need attention.

3. 03

   Discipline and way of working

   Together we decide on the discipline that suits you, the option of working one-to-one or in a group, and your weekly routine.

4. 04

   Tracking and updating

   We monitor the process, observe your progress and update the programme as needed.

Initial assessment and health

The initial assessment is not a test; it is a short conversation that lets us get to know you. At this stage we talk about your exercise history, your daily level of movement, your expectations and any conditions we need to be mindful of.

With some health conditions, an assessment by a doctor or the relevant health professional may be needed before starting exercise. Our initial assessment form helps us to notice such situations.

How is progress measured?

When progress is mentioned, the first things that come to mind are the number on the scales or the weight lifted. These are measurable and valuable; but they show only part of the picture. If we are talking about performance for life, we need to look for improvement in life as well.

In the tracking process, alongside the numbers, we also make room for observations such as these:

• Being able to do a movement with more control and more ease than before.
• Recovering more quickly after training.
• Feeling more energetic during the day, or the stairs not tiring you as much as they used to.
• Being able to keep training without interruption; in other words, the routine itself.

The last point is often the most important. If you can keep going regularly for weeks, the other indicators generally follow in time. For this reason we judge the success of a programme not only by how hard it pushes, but also by how sustainable it is.

Common misconceptions we come across

Some ideas about exercise that spread by word of mouth either push people harder than necessary or stop them from starting at all. To make our approach clear, we would like to touch on a few of them.

“The more, the better.”

More training does not always mean more progress. The body adapts in the balance between load and rest. For this reason we give recovery at least as much room in our programmes as work.

“No pain, no gain.”

Finding the work hard and feeling pain are not the same thing. A sharp, stabbing or persistent pain is not a sign to be “put up with”, but a warning to stop and assess. In such a case we ask you to let your trainer know and, if necessary, to see a health professional.

“There is one right programme for everyone.”

Ready-made programmes found on the internet may have worked for some people; but they do not know your history, your goal or your daily life. The right programme is one that is built for you and updated over time.

“I should get in shape first, then start.”

You do not need to reach a certain level of fitness in order to start. The job of the programme is precisely to take you from where you are and move you forward.

The hours outside training

A few hours of training a week cannot be thought of separately from the dozens of hours that remain. Sleep, nutrition, the amount you move during the day and your stress level affect both how you train and how your body responds to it.

We do not claim to be experts in all of these areas. If you need a personal plan relating to nutrition or health, being referred to the relevant specialist is the right course. What we can do is build the programme around the realities of your daily life and try to make sure training does that life good. One hour of training, movement all day: our goal is the balance in this sentence.

What do we expect from you?

A good process is two-sided. Our responsibility is to build the right plan and to track you; what we expect from you is fairly simple:

• Open communication: Telling us if a movement is uncomfortable or if your goal has changed.
• Routine: How many days a week you come depends on your goal, your discipline, your fitness and your daily life; what matters is that you can keep to the routine we have set.
• Patience: Change takes time. We do not promise big results in a short time; we aim to make progress step by step and visible.

If you have other questions on your mind, you can take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions page, and you can read about where ATC set out from on the About page.